After the Kukul Mas Curry, the next recipe I chose to try under the “Sinhalese Cuisine” theme in the Blogging Marathon #84 was this delicious brinjal relish called Batu Moju or Wambatu Moju. I was first informed about this dish by a Sri Lankan friend, Rizna on the JorenQ FB group. From then on, I had noted it down. I am not a fan of brinjal at all, but the spicy mishmash looked like a nice side dish. She had mentioned in her post that it goes really well with a dish of rice and curry. As usual, I set my Google search on these lines. I was bombarded with so many ways of cooking it as well! It is said that the dish is of Portugese origin, as Sri Lanka was once-upon-a-time a Portugese colony around the sixteenth century! Not much has been written about the dish…
Easy Rasam
The last Saturday of the month means it is time for a book review! Starting this series has been making me keep myself on my toes and go through the cookbooks I have with me to cook something and review about it too. Just this month, when my parents came, they lugged along in their baggage five more that I added to my collection, despite promising to myself that I wouldn’t get more. 🙁 So much so for promises… My girls, especially Rasha, keeps cribbing on how many cookbooks I have. Rasha gets irritated because I turn down her requests for more books and don’t allow HD to get her, even though they always manage to get things done through my back. I keep telling her that ummi is buying the books from my hard earned money, and at your age, you should be thinking more of borrowing and…
Panchmel Dal/ Panchratna Dal ~ Mixed Lentil Gravy
At times, when I am typing my posts, I really wonder if anybody reads blogs these days. Unless and until you know the ways of getting the blog into public eye, usually it feels like a very hidden and protected section in the world wide web. The WWW is also a deep pit, so in between all the floating blogs, everybody is fighting for the same space and similar audience. It really makes me wonder why I am still blogging. The readership doesn’t improve and nobody seems to be interested in commenting too, and that includes bloggers! When I had started blogging, the blogging community used to comment on my posts and there are times when I had so many comments to respond back to, but now it is quite countable. I don’t know if it is a point to feel low on, but definitely blogging is not what…
Shahi Malai Paneer
My posts have been just popping up as per schedule to the current Bakeathon, so I haven’t been posting any recent happenings as such. My parents came around late last week, Alhamdulillah and will be with us for a month. They have come in time for the girls’ school closing for winter vacations by this weekend. They are already really loving their time with their grandparents and literally driving them nuts the time they are at home. Hehe… I have also decided to take a month break from the gym so that I can get home as soon as I can after work and spend some time with them, InShaAllah… However, as much as there is sunshine, things are looking pretty bleak on the other side. Life is never expected to be a smooth ride anyway, right? “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger…
Bandhakopir Tarkari/ Dalna/ Ghonto ~ Bengal Cabbage Potato Curry
I used to always crib how boring a vegetable cabbage is. The only we have eaten it when we were growing up was in the form of this upperi. Blogging has allowed me to explore ways of using up this vegetable in ways other than the upperi. That is when I ended up discovering the cabbage capsicum masala and the chana dal sabzi. This is another way that I found out that belongs to our Bengali counterparts. A Bengali ex-colleague would say that Kerala and Bengal are similar, in terms of communism, fish and coconut! To some extend, I do find it true. I have been really tempted to try some of their foods but never got a chance as such. Let this be my first one and hopefully the start to many! I love that the cabbage is paired with my favorite potato and potatoes can never…
Parippu Vevichathu ~ Malabar Lentil Fry
I actually didn’t know what to name this dish. Umma makes a thick parippu (lentil) side dish to go with Neychor, Koonthal Chor or Thenga Chor all the time. If it is one of these three for lunch on Fridays, then by default, this parippu has to be on the table. It is so ingrained into our minds, that if I go with these for lunch and this parippu is not there, then I get all sorts of questions regarding its absence from B and the girls. I haven’t seen this being prepared in HD’s side but in our side of Tirur, this dish is very common. I had already included it in the Koonthal chor post, but I wanted to give it a separate post, since it is eaten not only with it. I just named it “vevichathu”, which means “cooked” or “boiled”, but if any of…
Gajar Ka Halwa ~ Carrot Halwa using Condensed Milk
I can have gajar ka halwa any time. It is one of the best sweets to have warm with a big scoop of ice cream, or who has the time to scoop out the ice cream, anyway! 😀 I already have an array of carrot halwa recipes on the blog… The traditional Gajar Halwa – the way I make it and love it! Gajar Halwa in the microwave if you are short of time or maybe some patience! If you are scared of using too much ghee, then here is the Tarka Gajar Ka Halwa… Nowadays, condensed milk is considered to be an indispensable part of our pantry, especially to make quick desserts. Even if I don’t want, I will still have a couple of tins in my pantry for emergency purpose. At times, I use up a part of my can while making Habbat Al Hamra for…
Matar Makhana Malai ~ Creamy Lotus Seeds Peas Curry
Food blogging tempts you to pick up new ingredients – all the time. We keep reading so many blogs and various recipes that sometimes some ingredients just sit in the head. Makhana or lotus seeds was one of them. It all started when I saw the picture of the roasted makhana in a group. My interest was immediately piqued. Reading through the discussions, I figured out the ingredient and set searching it in the aisle at the hypermarket close by. I was glad to find it without much difficulty. Half the pack got roasted with a little chilli powder and it disappeared. It felt like we were having a healthier version of the popcorn! Makhana is supposed to be a power house of iron, magnesia, potassium and a lot more minerals and hence is one of the best snacks that could be taken especially for weight loss. InShaAllah, will…
Biscoff Chia Pudding
I always thought that life would get easier as kids grow up. But no, I am wrong. As they grow up, they get complicated. We then tend to compare how we were at their age and wonder what is happening to today’s generation. I was shocked when soon-to-turn seven Azza told me that she and her friend were discussing how many business their fathers have. “Ummi, she told me her abba has ** shops, so I told her that my abba has ** shops.” Discussion of wealth… really? At times, Rasha speaks in a tone to imply that whatever we have is theirs. I always wonder whether we even thought this way when we were their age. We weren’t bothered about how much our parents had, but we opened our eyes and saw them more without being implicit, that even asking a penny mattered to us, it made us…
Parippu Thalichathu ~ Malabar Lentil Curry
I was wondering it would not be proper for me if I don’t feature a Malabar recipe in the theme “Lentils and Sides” for the Blogging Marathon #81. Let me make it clear that we don’t make lentil very often. At least not in my house… 🙂 The only way I know of umma making lentils is in this brinjal curry and mostly as side for ghee rice. So you can understand my excitement when I saw this recipe in the book “Malabar Cuisine” (you can read the review here). This lentil curry is so easy to make plus we have not given up on the coconut here as well. 😉 Somehow, most of our gravies have to have coconut used up in some form or the other. I was really not sure how the curry would turn out but we all loved it with our rice. The…
Kollu Rasam ~ Horsegram Soup
I love horse-gram or “muthira” as we call it and I have already shared how umma has taught me to make it. It was by chance I discovered that this super lentil can be made into rasam as well! So, for the theme of “Lentil Sides” of this week’s Blogging Marathon #81, I decided to share this delicious soup that I adapted from here. My favorite rasam is how umma makes it, and this one comes a close second. Somehow, I always tell that blogging has helped me widen my horizon to try new foods and get more creative, as well as experimental. Since we always have horse-gram in our pantry, I thought why not make this rasam and I am glad I did! This is a little bit of work, but so flavorful that I finished the remaining just as is! Rasam usually acts as a…
Dal Tadka ~ Tempered Lentil Stew
After a little break, it is good to come to the participating in the Blogging Marathon, in its edition #81. Last month, the group had done a mega marathon over the theme “Protein Based Dishes” and there were some amazing recipes that came up in the process. I am still happy to keep going with doing two BM themes per month, since I find it much easier to manage and keep blogging at peace. 🙂 For this week, the theme I have chosen is “Lentil Sides”. Lentils are a major source of proteins as far as vegetarians are concerned, and otherwise a source of some comfort food for many! A simple meal of lentils and rice can give you a feeling that no lavish meal can provide! I am sure many will agree to this. 🙂 One of the most prepared lentil curries in India is called “Dal…